Why Design and Branding Are Important in a Business World

The times they are a-changing’ for us all, and the business world is not spared from these constant changes. Though entrepreneurs big and small are looking for ways to adjust to this transformational shift, only a handful of them thrive. Success for the digital age depends on a myriad of new-fangled factors, among which compelling design and branding are arguably the most important ones.

Here’s why you need to redesign and rebrand for stellar results in 2017 and beyond.

The Experience Economy and Storytelling

The business world is opening a whole new chapter, but one thing remains the same – everything begins and ends with customers, and their loyalty is still the only guarantee for success. But customers have changed too, and so have their needs, preferences, and purchasing behaviors.

With virtually everything being in the palm of their hands, customers are now more interested in accumulating experiences then they are in accumulating possessions. Since owned goods are not as valuable to customers as they used to be, companies that sell them need to change their approach.

That’s where design and branding enter the scene. Unlike the products and services themselves, they possess a unique power of storytelling. Only together, they can help companies create engaging experiences that no modern customer would be able to ignore, disdain, or resist.

The New Proposition Value

Regarding branding, the experience economy has brought a couple of changes more. To attract modern customers and their emotional needs, companies can no longer rely on traditional proposition values. As of late, their language needs to be emotionally charged as well.

An emotional proposition value is in its essence a company’s promise of a pleasant experience. It’s what modern audiences want and expect, and what only branding experts can deliver. Without their insight, corporations would only continue to offer the same old practical goods and messages.

The Oversaturated Marketplace

Still, the experience economy isn’t the only consequence of the digital age. Limitless connectivity and access to information have not only presented customers with a variety of choices but have also enabled both experts and dissidents from all niches to pursue careers in entrepreneurship.

As a result, the marketplace has become overly saturated. In every industry, competition is fiercer than ever before, with hundreds and hundreds of companies looking for new ways to stand out from the crowd. When the offer is the same or similar, the advantage is earned with design and branding.

Branding – The Power of Visual Impact

Over the last couple of years, we’ve witnessed a reemergence of visual content. According to a 2017 HubSpot report, 43% of people want to see more video content from marketers, while 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.

The same applies to infographics – thanks to a strong visual impact, both of these forms excel at conveying complex messages. The fact that modern audiences prefer them over blocks of text only goes to show how efficient design is when it comes to branding and marketing.

With that in mind, companies that are looking to stay competitive in 2017 and beyond cannot afford to neglect the importance of custom logo design, intuitive user interfaces, and appealing video marketing. The designer’s toolkit is essential for all three, and so is the right branding strategy.

The Design Way of Thinking

Companies like Apple, IBM, Nike, and Coca-Cola have already established themselves as design-centric, thus outperforming their competitors for an impressive 219%. Other organizations are doing the same as we speak, hoping that the design way of thinking will make them equally successful.

Design-centricity is not only a major business trend but also a strategic approach that yields measurable results. It urges companies to focus on real people with real needs, and deliver innovative solutions for everyday problems.

Great design has always been capable of changing the world; the only novelty is that competitive businesses have finally started to take notice of its transformative power.

In terms of visual appeal and intuitive solutions, great design has never been in higher demand. The business world is entering a whole new era of customer interactions, the one that’s defined by experiences and storytelling. Only branding can live up to both, and only when empowered by compelling design.